Jury says Fla. man should die for 2002 slaying

MIAMI (AP) -- A jury is recommending the death penalty for a man convicted in the 2002 abduction of a young South Florida couple and slaying of the 18-year-old woman.

A Miami-Dade County jury voted 9-3 Friday in favor of the death penalty for 33-year-old Joel Lebron. The final decision on death or life in prison is up to a judge, who set a Nov. 9 hearing date.

Authorities say then 17-year-old Nelson Portobanco and Ana Maria Angel were walking back to their car on South Beach when they were forced into a pickup truck by Lebron and four other men.

Portobanco was stabbed and left for dead, but survived. Angel was raped and fatally shot alongside an Interstate 95 retaining wall in Palm Beach County. Authorities say Lebron was the ringleader.

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